


a matter of pride

by ramblingsofaqueerwoman



Series: double double, this that [2]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: F/F, M/M, The Gang Goes To Pride, but there are cheesy tee shirts and face painting, idk what this is, so enjoy that i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22830424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramblingsofaqueerwoman/pseuds/ramblingsofaqueerwoman
Summary: Sometimes you just gotta let your boyfriend dress you in a ridiculous shirt and paint a rainbow on your face.aka The Gang Goes To Pride
Relationships: Kady Orloff-Diaz/Julia Wicker, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: double double, this that [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1387918
Comments: 4
Kudos: 107





	a matter of pride

**Author's Note:**

> this idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave until I wrote it, as do most of my fic ideas lol  
> hope you enjoy <3

Everyone knew Eliot Waugh was queer. 

There wasn’t a single person on this planet who looked at him and thought _“yeah, that boy’s a heterosexual.”_

So he didn’t understand why his darling, ridiculous boyfriend was currently giving him a shirt with the words ‘Let Me Be Perfectly Queer’ emblazoned across the front. 

“Q,” he said, drawing out the sound. “What is that?”

Quentin looked up at him in surprise. “You said you’d go to pride with me?” His forehead was doing that adorable wrinkly thing it did when he was confused and, _nope_ , not getting distracted. 

“I did,” Eliot agreed. “But I don’t recall agreeing to wear _that_.” He pointed at the shirt still in Quentin’s hand. 

Quentin’s face fell. “Oh,” he said, his voice soft. “I just thought, well, Julia and I ordered one for everyone, but. You don’t have to wear one, it’s okay.” 

_Fuck_. He was a little embarrassed how quickly he had gotten to the ‘undeniably wrapped around his boyfriend’s little finger’ stage, but he couldn’t deny that the sight of Q’s sad face with his puppy dog eyes was enough to make him do pretty much anything. Even wear a shirt as garrish as that one. 

“Give me the shirt,” he sighed. Quentin’s face lit up as he handed it over, and Eliot tried not to acknowledge the happy flop his heart did in response. “I should have known Wicker was behind this,” he grumbled. 

He retreated to his bedroom to redo his entire outfit. He hadn’t worn anything as plain as a tee shirt in years, but with the right pair of pants and some suspenders, he supposed it wasn’t hopelessly awful. _It’s amazing what a rolled sleeve can do_ , he mused as he gave himself a final once over. Satisfied, he made his way back downstairs, where Julia and Kady had joined Quentin.

Julia had done her eyeshadow in the bi flag colors, a fact he only knew because Q had shown him pictures last week, eager to show off his friends handiwork. _“Look, El,”_ he’d said, grinning from ear to ear. _“It’s bi-shadow.”_ He had just rolled his eyes then, but he couldn’t deny that Julia’s makeup looked good. It was ruined, of course, by the fact that she was wearing a tacky tank top that said “Can’t Even Think Straight”. 

Kady looked...like Kady, and for a moment Eliot was outraged that she got to escape the Pride Shirt Plight, but then she turned around and Eliot could read her shirt. “I’m Not Gay, But My Girlfriend Is”. Eliot didn’t snort-laugh, not at all.

Quentin looked up at the sound of his not-snort-laugh. Julia had gotten to his hair and had plaited it into two french braids to match her own hair style. The braids were messy, like halfway through he had forgotten he was supposed to stay still and turned his head to look at something, and a few hairs had come all the way loose and were falling around his face. His shirt was a soft gray and, unlike the others, it was worn in. The vinyl letters on the front spelling “Ain’t No Lie, Baby, Bi Bi Bi” were starting to crack around the edges. The entire ensemble was absolutely absurd, and it was certainly a sign of Eliot losing his mind that he thought it was the cutest Quentin had ever looked. 

His absurdly cute boyfriend grinned at him from across the room, eyes lighting up. He fucking knew that Eliot thought he looked cute like this, the _brat_. 

“Eliot!” Julia had caught sight of him. “Look, we match!”

She threw her arm around Q’s shoulders, making him laugh as he stumbled under her weight. Kady moved to stand beside them, waving her hand in a Vanna White-esque motion, presenting the two idiots and their matching hair and their stupid shirts. 

The three of them made the most ridiculous sight he’d ever laid eyes on.

_Family._

Eliot’s eyes widened at the word that sprung unbidden to his mind. _Okay, not thinking about that reaction,_ he thought, shoving it down far deep where it belonged. 

“You are all deeply uncool,” a sardonic voice cut in.

Margo was standing at the foot of the staircase. She was lowering her phone and Eliot knew she had just snapped a picture of the group. He was definitely going to ask her for that later.

“Change your mind about coming with us?” He came the rest of the way down the stairs to join her, wrapping an arm around her. 

“And pass up the chance to have the cottage to myself?” she scoffed. “Hell no. Mama’s got a new vibrator to break in.” 

He let out a laugh, smacking her ass as she slid past him and up the stairs. 

Quentin bounced up to where he was standing, all wide grin and puppy-like energy. “Hi,” he said. 

Eliot marveled at him. He knew Quentin well enough to know he should soak up days like this. Days where Q’s brain was being kind to him and he had energy. Days when he was practically _glowing_ with happiness. It was a good look on him. Eliot was going to bask in it, but he had to be a little shit about it too. 

Quentin grinned up at him with knowing eyes. “I’m cute.”

“No, you’re not.”

“You think I look cute.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You liiiike it,” he teased, voice sing-songy. 

“Shut up.”

Julia finished whatever it was she was doing with her backpack and pulled Kady towards the door, calling back to them over her shoulder. “Come on, we’re gonna be late!” 

Quentin turned to follow them, but Eliot grabbed his hand and tugged him back, catching him with a kiss. He wasted no time deepening the kiss, sliding his free arm around Quentin’s back and pinning him against himself. He waited until his boyfriend was just the right amount of melted in his arms before pulling away. 

“You’re very cute, darling Q,” he whispered in his ear. He pulled him towards the door, Quentin giggling softly behind him, and felt like his heart had grown three sizes.

***

New York City during Pride Week is rainbow colored chaos. It’s also the best idea Julia had had in weeks. Quentin was giggly, Eliot was actually wearing the shirt they’d bought him, and Kady...well, Julia couldn’t take her eyes off of her girlfriend. 

Kady was smiling. No, Kady was freaking _beaming_ , her entire face lit up with joy as she took in the whole spectacle. Julia was used to her girlfriend smiling around her, but this was on a whole other level. Kady looked proud and confident, and like she was right at home. She also looked _hot as fuck_ in those cutoff denim shorts. 

She sped up so she was walking next to Kady, slipping a hand into her back pocket as she did. She couldn’t help but laugh at the look on the other girl’s face.

“You’re a dork,” Kady said, trying to hide her own grin and failing. 

“Yes, but I’m _your_ dork.” Julia leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, glowing with happiness when Kady wrapped her arm around her shoulder, keeping her close. 

Some volunteers were standing in the middle of the crowds of people, handing out small favors from rainbow bags. They made their way past them and one of them handed one to Julia with a wish of _“Happy Pride!”._ She returned the greeting before looking to see what it was. She couldn’t help but laugh when she saw it was a bright pink condom. She held it up for Kady to see, who let out a snort. She moved to toss it into the nearest trash can when it was plucked out of her hand by long fingers.

“Never turn down a condom, darling,” Eliot said, tucking the square into his pocket. 

“Isn’t there a spell for that?” Kady asked, leaning around Julia to glance at him. Quentin’s face turned bright red at the question.

“It’s not for _me_.” Eliot gave her a dirty look. “Margo sells them to the freshmen for a dollar a pop.” 

“Of course she does,” Julia chuckled. She gave a yelp as Quentin grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd.

“Look, Jules! Face painting!” Quentin always turned into a little kid at these things, wanting to partake in all of the activities but never wanting to do them alone. 

“I’ll get the butterfly, you get the crown?” Her grin matched his own. 

Halfway through the painting process their partners found their way through the crowd and caught up to them. One of the painters immediately pulled Kady into a chair and gave her some abstract tiger stripes that should have looked silly, but somehow managed to make her look fierce. Even Eliot gave in to Q’s persistence and agreed to get a tiny rainbow on one cheek. 

Freshly painted, Julia linked her arm through Quentin’s and the four friends made their way through the rest of the booths. The energy in the air was infectious. People in rainbow shirts with various logos on them handed out everything you could imagine; bead necklaces, candy, condoms, rubber bracelets, stickers, and even chapstick. Soon their arms were overflowing with free merch. Quentin was wearing all of his merch, but Julia gathered the rest of everyone’s up and started stuffing it into her’s and Q’s backpacks. 

“I told you these backpacks would come in handy,” she said pointedly to Eliot, who had protested that they were too hideous to see the light of day.

He simply rolled his eyes, looking smug from where Q had his arms draped around his neck. “Yes, yes, you’re very smart.” 

“Babe, come here!” Kady’s shout came from a short distance away, where she had wandered off. “I need to prove a point!” 

She followed Kady’s voice until she found where her girlfriend was standing in front of...in front of protestors. Julia stopped short and forgot how to breathe for a moment. She knew there were protestors at Pride, of course, there always were. But to go from the accepting energy of the booths to signs that said _“Repent!”_ and _“You’re Going To Hell”_ was a bit of a slap in the face.

“Hey.” Kady’s voice was soft and right beside her. She turned to meet her eyes and they were filled with nothing but love and support, and suddenly Jules could breathe again. “Come here with me?” 

She let Kady lead her forward to the fence and she finally noticed that there were others standing in front of it too, holding their own signs that said _“Fuck These Guys”_ and _“God Loves Everyone”_. She realized what her girlfriend was going to do and started giggling. She was still giggling when Kady kissed her. 

Oh. 

It was one of _those_ kisses.

The type of kiss that left her head spinning. The type that made her forget the rest of the world. A kiss that made everything else melt away until the only thing she could see, taste, feel was _Kady_. 

Kady pulled away and Julia gasped in a breath as she slowly regained sense of her surroundings. She could hear a handful of people whooping and applauding them, and then a very familiar wolf whistle. 

She looked over at where Eliot was standing next to Quentin, who had his phone up recording them. Kady wrapped her arms around her waist, picking her up and spinning her around with a triumphant laugh. Julia could feel her face heat up with a blush, but she couldn’t find an ounce of her that cared. _Who gives a fuck what some assholes with signs think?_

She had Kady. She had her friends. Nothing else mattered.

***

Somewhere along the way, day had turned into night, but Eliot was personally too happy and tipsy to care. They were somewhere around their fourth (or fifth?) bar, paper bands starting to stack up their arms, and everything was starting to get that beautiful state of slightly fuzzy. What was even better was everyone else was too far gone to realize that Eliot had stopped drinking for the night and start teasing him about it. 

So maybe he wanted to remember his first Pride with his boyfriend, that’s not a crime. Maybe he wanted to memorize the way Quentin looked under the neon lights; hair messy and flecked with glitter, face flushed from both the dancing and the alcohol, and singing along to “I Will Survive” with his friends. Maybe he never thought he’d get this. Maybe he never wants to lose this. 

And it was definitely the alcohol talking, but he was feeling fond of Julia and Kady too. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but somehow those two women had snuck their way past his heavily armored defenses and became _family_ to him. He’d never admit it to them, no, of course not, but he was fairly certain he didn’t want them to leave. Which was saying something, for him. 

He was even feeling a certain amount of tolerance for Alice and Penny, who had joined them around bar number three (or was it four?). Penny’s shirt was unbuttoned down to his waist, which frankly wasn’t that much of change for him, and he seemed to be enjoying the attention it was getting him from guys and girls alike. _Was Penny straight?_ Eliot made a note to check if he cared enough to ask when he’d sobered up. 

Alice, ridiculous lightweight that she was, was giggly and flushed from one mixed drink. She looked so damn happy to be included in a group activity, and Eliot felt a pang of guilt for pushing her away for so long. He was glad that he was past the ‘jealous boyfriend’ stage and no longer felt she was a threat. The fact that he stuck close to Q’s side all night was, of course, completely unrelated. He just wanted to make sure that everyone could see that this adorable, beautiful, _wonderful_ man was his. It wasn’t so much that he wanted to brand Quentin as ‘Property of Eliot Waugh’, it was more that Eliot wanted to be branded by Q. El wanted everyone to be able to see that he was _taken_ , he was _chosen,_ he was _loved._

The song finished off and Eliot watched as Q and Julia struck a dramatic pose on the final chord. _My ridiculous family._ Another song started and Kady dragged Julia away to dance with her. Q looked around like a lost puppy before his gaze finally landed on Eliot, his whole face lighting up like sunshine through the clouds. 

Eliot’s heart did that _flip-flop_ it tended to do whenever Q was involved. Quentin made his way over to where his boyfriend was sitting on a stool at the bar, only stumbling once before sliding between his legs and nuzzling into his neck. Eliot wrapped him up in his arms and dropped a kiss on his slightly sweaty neck, enjoying how the night had made him loose limbed and relaxed. 

“Hey there, beautiful boy,” he said against his skin, soft enough that only Q could hear him. “How are you feeling?” 

“Like a sugary breakfast cereal.” Quentin’s reply was muffled against Eliot’s shoulder. 

Eliot’s laughter rocked through him, making Quentin shake from where he was leaning against his chest. _This boy_. Q pulled his head back, giving him that soft smile that he got when he was pleased with himself. Did he have any idea how damn kissable he looked like that? Eliot was duty bound to let him know. All it took was leaning forward ever so slightly and their lips met, like magnets drawn together.

This. This is what he wanted to remember. 

His boyfriend, soft beneath his touch, leaning against him like he trusted Eliot to hold him up, with his fingers tangled in Eliot’s shirt and gasping against his mouth. How had he gotten so lucky that this was his life? He kissed him until his heart felt like it was going to burst and then pulled away because he had to see him, he had to memorize the sight of how he looked in this very moment. Eyes dazed, lips swollen, perfect. _His._

“Dance with me?” Quentin’s voice was breathless, barely audible over the pulsing beat of the music.

_God, how Eliot loved him. This beautiful, wonderful boy._

“Always.”


End file.
